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Union boss warns of no-deal Brexit dangers

By Richard Wheeler, PA Parliamentary Editor

Boris Johnson and other Tory Brexiteers have been ridiculed over their expertise by a union boss who suggested poultry giant Bernard Matthews and nannies know more.

Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke sounded warnings over the dangers posed by a no-deal Brexit to the car industry at the Labour Party conference.

He also urged the "rotting carcass" of a Government to "get out of the way" if it cannot develop a better plan to shift the industry to electric vehicles as he moved an emergency motion which criticised the current "disastrous" approach.

Speaking in Liverpool, Mr Burke criticised Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin for claiming Jaguar Land Rover was "making it up" by warning a hard Brexit would wipe out its profits and cost tens of thousands of jobs.

Mr Burke said: "Tell that to 1,000 lorry drivers who bring components to and from the UK and the EU each day.

"Tell that to 10,000 track workers in Jaguar Land Rover working in production and design that the crisis is being made up.

"And tell that to thousands of workers in the supply chain, including our steel workers, who rely on these contracts.

"What on earth does Bernard Jenkin know about building cars? Bernard Matthews probably knew more.

"Jacob Rees-Mogg, David Davis, Boris Johnson - their experience of manufacturing probably only extends to watching the nanny assemble an Ikea flat pack."

The motion moved by Unite focused on the "industrial car crisis in the car industry" and also raised concerns with production cuts announced by manufacturers ahead of Brexit.

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